COLLEMBOLA > ENTOMOBRYOMORPHA > ENTOMOBRYOIDEA > Entomobryidae > Entomobryinae

ENTOMOBRYOIDEA is one of two superfamilies within the large ENTOMOBRYOMORPHA order. It includes two families, Entomobryidae and Isotomidae, both of which are broken down further into subfamilies.

Entomobryidae includes four subfamilies consisting 35 species in ten genera. The family as a whole are sometimes referred to as the 'slender springtails', and are characterised by having an enlarged fourth abdominal segment and a well-developed furca.

The Entomobrya genus consists of eight primarily arboreal species; five of which are listed as being both common and widespread, another supposedly common but coastal, and two that are nationally scarce.

Entomobrya albocincta is one of the most common, although not necessarily a species that you're going to find easily unless you're into collecting specimens by shaking trees, which is fine for research purposes and for those that have a specialist interest, but is probably not something that I would do. However, although frequently found up in the tree tops, often in the company of Orchesella cincta and other Entomobrya species, they can also be found under bark or at ground level under logs or fallen branches, which is how I found some of the individuals photographed below.

The species averages a little under 2mm in length with distinctive broad pigmented bands. The 'key' states that the body pattern has "dark pigment on the third thoracic section, and also on the first, second, third and posterior half of the fourth abdominal segments", thereby being a description of the actual pigmentation and not the two pale body bands that actually makes it one of the easier species to identify. The antennae have four segments, with the basal two not subdivided. The body is not iridescent or covered in scales, but does have numerous setae, some being long.

The first two photos below are of specimen that I found on an old wooden bee-box that I'd taken down from a fence to renovate. The third shot is of an individual that was knocked from a rotting log and photographed in a dish, which may not be very natural, but it does provide a shot where you can clearly see the body segments. In the next photo, the projection at the rear is not a 'tail', but the extended, non-retracted furca which, as noted above, is particularly well-developed in this family. Then a photo of one I'd enticed onto a splinter of wood in the hope of getting a good side shot but, despite heavy cropping and image enhancement, it shows that better equipment or a different approach is needed for these tiny species. And, to emphasise just how small they are, the final shot shows one alongside a woodlouse that looks absolutely gigantic in comparison.